Systems and methods for providing social electronic learning

ABSTRACT

A social electronic learning system, including a plurality of computing devices for communicating with a plurality of users in an educational community, and at least one server in communication with each of the plurality of computing devices, each server in communication with at least one data storage device configured to host a plurality of electronic portfolios, each electronic portfolio associated with one or more users of the plurality of users in the educational community, wherein each server is configured such that one or more users may associate one or more digital items with each electronic portfolio, and the plurality of users may take actions on the digital items in each electronic portfolio depending on authorization criteria.

FIELD

The embodiments described herein relate to electronic learning, and moreparticularly to systems and methods for providing social electroniclearning to one or more users in an educational community.

INTRODUCTION

Electronic learning (also called e-Learning or eLearning) generallyrefers to education or learning where users engage in education relatedactivities using computers and other computer devices. For examples,users may enroll or participate in a course or program of study offeredby an educational institution (e.g. a college, university or gradeschool) through a web interface that is accessible over the Internet.Similarly, users may receive assignments electronically, participate ingroup work and projects by collaborating online, and be graded based onassignments and examinations that are submitted using an electronicdropbox.

Electronic learning is not limited to use by educational institutions,however, and may also be used in governments or in corporateenvironments. For example, employees at a regional branch office of aparticular company may use electronic learning to participate in atraining course offered by their company's head office without everphysically leaving the branch office.

Electronic learning can also be an individual activity with noinstitution driving the learning. For example, individuals mayparticipate in self-directed study (e.g. studying an electronic textbookor watching a recorded or live webcast of a lecture) that is notassociated with a particular institution or organization.

Electronic learning often occurs without any face-to-face interactionbetween the users in the educational community. Accordingly, electroniclearning overcomes some of the geographic limitations associated withmore traditional learning methods, and may eliminate or greatly reducetravel and relocation requirements imposed on users of educationalservices.

Furthermore, because course materials can be offered and consumedelectronically, there are fewer physical restrictions on learning. Forexample, the number of students that can be enrolled in a particularcourse may be practically limitless, as there may be no requirement forphysical facilities to house the students during lectures. Furthermore,learning materials (e.g. handouts, textbooks, etc.) may be provided inelectronic formats so that they can be reproduced for a virtuallyunlimited number of students. Finally, lectures may be recorded andaccessed at varying times (e.g. at different times that are convenientfor different users), thus accommodating users with varying schedules,and allowing users to be enrolled in multiple courses that might have ascheduling conflict when offered using traditional techniques.

However, some users of electronic learning systems may feel isolatedwhen compared to traditional consumers of educational services due tothe reduced face-to-face contact. In particular, there may be feweropportunities to form social bonds between users and to participate inmeaningful feedback and sharing between users.

Accordingly, there is a need for improved electronic learning systemsand methods that address at least some of these concerns.

SUMMARY

According to one embodiment, there is provided a social electroniclearning system, comprising: a plurality of computing devices forcommunicating with a plurality of users in an educational community; atleast one server in communication with each of the plurality ofcomputing devices, each server in communication with at least one datastorage device configured to host a plurality of electronic portfolios,each electronic portfolio associated with one or more users of theplurality of users in the educational community; wherein each server isconfigured such that one or more users may associate one or more digitalitems with each electronic portfolio, and the plurality of users maytake actions on the digital items in each electronic portfolio dependingon authorization criteria.

The authorization criteria may include at least one permission profileassociated with at least one of the digital items. The authorizationcriteria may include at least one global configuration profileassociated with the plurality of electronic portfolios. The plurality ofusers may include at least one user authorized to set at least oneconfiguration profile. The authorization criteria may include at leastone security profile associated with at least one role, each roleincluding at least one of the plurality of users.

The digital items may include at least one of artifacts, reflections,collections and presentations.

The actions that may be taken may include commenting on at least one ofthe digital items. The actions that may be taken may include assessingat least one of the digital items. The actions that may be taken mayinclude at least one of reading, modifying, sharing, and creating atleast one of the digital items.

The authorization criteria may include at least one permission-specificcriterion. The permission-specific criteria may include enrollment datafor the plurality of users.

Each server may be configured so that one or more users may havedifferent levels of control over their associated electronic portfolios.

Each server may be configured so that the plurality of users may tagdigital items using at least one keyword. Each server may be configuredsuch that each user may perform keyword searches across the plurality ofelectronic portfolios. Results of each search may return digital itemsbased on the tags associated therewith. The results of each search mayreturn digital items about which that particular user was previouslyunaware.

At least some of the keywords may be dynamically defined by each user.At least some of the keywords may be predefined.

At least one of the digital items may be an assignment item prepared bya first user and presented to a second user for assessment. Theassessment of the assignment item by the second user may be performedusing at least one rubric.

After each assignment item is submitted for assessment, that assignmentitem may be locked against subsequent changes.

The assignment item may be a response to an examination and includeanswers to at least one question presented to the first user inassociation with the examination. The assessment of the assignment itemmay be returned to the first user only with data that the second userhas determined should be returned. The assessment of the assignment itemmay be returned to the first user without the plurality of questions.

At least one digital item may include at least one collection, eachcollection including a plurality of digital items. The plurality ofdigital items in each collection may include local digital itemsassociated with a particular electronic portfolio and remote digitalitems not associated with that particular electronic portfolio. At leastone of the remote digital items may be associated with a differentelectronic portfolio. At least one of the remote digital items may be alinked item external to the social electronic learning system.

At least one of the plurality of digital items in each collection may beassociated therewith based on a manual selection of at least one digitalitem. At least one of the plurality of digital items in each collectionmay be associated therewith based on dynamic associations formed usingat least one keyword associated with at least one digital item.

Each user may have a personal profile, and the personal profile may bedisplayed to other users of the plurality of users differently dependingon at least one context.

At least one of the electronic portfolios may include at least onepresentation. Each presentation may include at least one digital itemand have at least one theme associated therewith. At least a portion ofeach theme may be controlled by at least one global theme variable. Eachpresentation may be shared with other users based on a permissionsprofile set by the user creating the presentation.

According to another embodiment, there is provided a method of providinga social electronic learning system, comprising: identifying a pluralityof users in an educational community; providing a plurality of computingdevices for communicating with the plurality of users in the educationalcommunity; providing at least one server in communication with each ofthe plurality of computing devices, each server having at least one datastorage device coupled thereto and configured to host a plurality ofelectronic portfolios, each electronic portfolio associated with one ormore users of the plurality of users in the educational community; andwherein each server is configured such that one or more users mayassociate one or more digital items with each electronic portfolio, andthe plurality of users may take actions on the digital items in eachelectronic portfolio depending on authorization criteria.

According to yet another embodiment, there is provided a physicalcomputer readable medium including computer executable instructionswhich, when executed on a computing device, cause the computing deviceto: identify a plurality of users in an educational community; identifya plurality of computing devices for communicating with the plurality ofusers in the educational community; communicate with each of theplurality of computing devices; communicate with at least one datastorage device configured to host a plurality of electronic portfolios,each electronic portfolio associated with one or more users of theplurality of users in the educational community; and allow one or moreusers to associate one or more digital items with each electronicportfolio, and the plurality of users to take actions on the digitalitems in each electronic portfolio depending on authorization criteria.

Further aspects and advantages of the embodiments described herein willappear from the following description taken together with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the embodiments described herein and toshow more clearly how they may be carried into effect, reference willnow be made, by way of example only, to the accompanying drawings whichshow at least one exemplary embodiment, and in which:

FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustrating a system for providing socialelectronic learning according to one embodiment;

FIG. 1B is a block diagram of an exemplary interaction between users ofthe system of FIG. 1A and an organizational structure;

FIG. 2 is a screenshot of a home page for the system of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 3 is a screenshot of a dashboard page for the system of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 4 is a screenshot of a search page for the system of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 5 is a screenshot of an invites page for the system of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 6 is a screenshot of a profile editing page for the system of FIG.1A;

FIG. 7 is a screenshot of a settings page for the system of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 8 is a screenshot of an artifacts management page for the system ofFIG. 1A;

FIG. 9 is a detailed view of the artifacts management page shown in FIG.7 showing information about an artifact;

FIG. 10 is a screenshot of an add artifacts page for the system of FIG.1A;

FIG. 11 is a screenshot of a file upload page for the system of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 12 is a screenshot of the details of an added artifact;

FIG. 13 is a screenshot of an add rubrics page for the system of FIG.1A;

FIG. 14 is a screenshot of the details of an artifact showing areflection, a comment, and an assessment;

FIG. 15 is a screenshot of an add reflection page for the artifact shownin FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a screenshot of an add comment page for the artifact shown inFIG. 14;

FIG. 17 is a screenshot of an add assessment page for the artifact shownin FIG. 14;

FIG. 18 is a screenshot of a permissions profiles page for the artifactshown in FIG. 14 for setting a general availability of the artifact;

FIG. 19 is a screenshot of a permissions profiles page for the artifactshown in FIG. 14 for setting a specific user availability for theartifact;

FIG. 20 is a screenshot of an add profiles page for setting thepermissions profiles for the artifact shown in FIG. 14;

FIG. 21 is a screenshot of an invitation page for the artifact shown inFIG. 14 for sending an invitation to other users;

FIG. 22 is a screenshot of a course selection page for selecting usersbeing added to the permissions profile for the artifact shown in FIG.14;

FIG. 23 is a screenshot of a user selection page for selecting usersbeing added to the permissions profile for the artifact shown in FIG.14;

FIG. 24 is a screenshot of a permissions selection page for adjustingthe actions the users selected in FIG. 23 can take on the artifact shownin FIG. 14;

FIG. 25 is screenshot of a search page for searching for artifacts;

FIG. 26 is a screenshot of a collections management page for the systemof FIG. 1A;

FIG. 27 is a screenshot of the collections management page of FIG. 26showing a new collection being added;

FIG. 28 is a screenshot of the collections management page of FIG. 26showing items added to the collection of FIG. 27;

FIG. 29 is a screenshot of an add items page for adding items to thecollection of FIG. 27;

FIG. 30 is a screenshot of another add items page for adding specificitems to the collection of FIG. 27;

FIG. 31 is a screenshot of another add items page for adding items tothe collection of FIG. 27 based on tags associated with those items;

FIG. 32 is a screenshot of a view collection page for viewing thecollection of FIG. 27;

FIG. 33 is a screenshot of a permissions profiles page for settingpermissions profiles for the collection of FIG. 27;

FIG. 34 is a screenshot of a presentations management page for thesystem of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 35 is a screenshot of a presentations page for configuring theproperties of a presentation;

FIG. 36 is a screenshot of a presentations page for configuring thecontent/layout of a presentation;

FIG. 37 is a screenshot of a presentations page for configuring thebanner of a presentation;

FIG. 38 is a screenshot of a presentations page for configuring thetheme of a presentation;

FIG. 39 is a screenshot of a themes management page for the system ofFIG. 1A;

FIG. 40 is a screenshot of a reflections management page for the systemof FIG. 1A;

FIG. 41 is a screenshot of a shared items management page for the systemof FIG. 1A;

FIG. 42 is a screenshot of an exploring management page for the systemof FIG. 1A;

FIG. 43 is a screenshot of a permissions profile management page for thesystem of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 44 is a screenshot of a forms page for the system of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 45 is a screenshot of a new forms page for creating forms;

FIG. 46 is a screenshot of an edit forms page for editing forms; and

FIG. 47 is a screenshot of a preview page for previewing a created form.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For simplicity and clarity of illustration, where consideredappropriate, reference numerals may be repeated among the figures toindicate corresponding or analogous elements or steps. In addition,numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the exemplary embodiments described herein. However, itwill be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that theembodiments described herein may be practiced without these specificdetails. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures andcomponents have not been described in detail so as not to obscure theembodiments generally described herein.

Furthermore, this description is not to be considered as limiting thescope of the embodiments described herein in any way, but rather asmerely describing the implementation of various embodiments asdescribed.

The embodiments of the systems and methods described herein may beimplemented in hardware or software, or a combination of both. Forexample, some embodiments may be implemented in computer systems andcomputer programs, which may be stored on a physical computer readablemedium, executable on programmable computers each comprising at leastone processor, a data storage system (including volatile andnon-volatile memory and/or storage elements), at least one input device(e.g. a keyboard or mouse), and at least one output device (e.g. adisplay screen, a network, or a remote server). For example and withoutlimitation, the programmable computers may include personal computers,laptops, netbook computers, personal data assistants (PDA), cell phones,smart phones, gaming devices, and other mobile devices.

In some embodiments, program code can be applied to input data toperform the functions described herein and to generate outputinformation. The output information can then be supplied to one or moreoutput devices for outputting to one or more users.

Turning now to FIG. 1A, illustrated therein is a system 10 for providingsocial electronic learning according to one embodiment. Using the system10, one or more users 12, 14 may communicate with an educational serviceprovider 30 to participate in and consume educational services. Theeducational service provider 30 may be part of or associated with aconventional educational institution (e.g. a high school, university orcollege), may be generally associated with any other entity thatprovides educational services (e.g. a company offering trainingcourses), or may be an independent service provider (e.g. for individualelectronic learning).

In some embodiments, an educational community can be defined thatincludes one or more users in the system. For example, as shown in FIG.1A, an educational community 16 has been defined to include the users12, 14. The educational community 16 may include some users 12, 14 thatare interested in learning, other users that may lecture or teachcourses to the users 12, 14, other users that assess assignmentsprepared by the users 12, 14, and generally any other persons who may beinterested in social educational learning using the system 10. In someexamples, one or more of the users 12, 14 may be associated with morethan one educational community (e.g. user 12 may belong to twoeducational communities).

In some examples, a number of users (e.g. the users 14) may beassociated with one or more logical groups 18 that can be defined invarious ways. For example, one logical group 18 could include users 14that are enrolled in a particular course (e.g. advanced calculus,introduction to biology, basic woodworking, etc.) or are part of a groupwithin each course (e.g. a lab group). Other example logical groups 18could include users 14 that share common interests (e.g. interests in aparticular sport), that participate in common activities (e.g. usersthat are members of a choir or a club), and/or have similar attributes(e.g. users that are male, users under twenty-one years of age, etc.).

The communication between the users 12, 14 and the educational serviceprovider 30 can occur either directly or indirectly using any suitablecomputing device. For example, the first user 12 may use a computingdevice 20 such as a desktop computer that has at least one input device(e.g. a keyboard and a mouse) and at least one output device (e.g. adisplay screen and speakers).

The computing device 20 may be connected to the service provider 30 viaany suitable communications channel. For example, the computing device20 may be communicate to the educational service provider 30 over alocal area network (LAN) or intranet, or may communicate with theeducational service provider 30 using an external network (e.g. by usinga browser on the computing device 20 to browse to one or more web pagespresented over the Internet 28).

In some examples, one or more of the users 12, 14 may be required toauthenticate their identities in order to communicate with theeducational service provider 30. For example, a first user 12 may berequired to input their login name and/or a password associated withtheir particular user account to gain access to the system 10.

The computing device 20 can generally be any other suitable device forfacilitating communication between the users 12, 14 and the educationalservice provider 30. For example, the computing device 20 could be alaptop 20 a that may be wirelessly coupled to an access point 22 (e.g. awireless router or a cellular communications tower), a wirelesslyenabled personal data assistant (PDA) 20 b, or a smart phone 20 c.

In some embodiments, the wireless access points 22 may connect to theeducational service provider 30 through a data connection establishedover the LAN or intranet. Alternatively, the wireless access points 22may be in communication with the educational service provider 30 via theInternet 28 or another external data communications network. Forexample, the user 14 may use the smart phone 20 c to browse to a webpagethat displays elements of a social electronic learning system.

In some examples, the webpage may be configured to be displayed on asmaller screen and to accommodate other limitations of the smart phone20 c.

The educational service provider 30 generally includes a number offunctional components for facilitating the provision of socialelectronic learning services. For example, the educational serviceprovider 30 generally includes one or more servers 32, each having oneor more processors. The servers 32 are configured to send information(e.g. HTML) to be displayed on one or more computing devices 20 inassociation with the social electronic learning system 10. The servers32 are also generally configured to associate the users 12, 14 with aplurality of electronic portfolios as will be described in greaterdetail below.

The educational service provider 30 also generally includes one or moredata storage devices 34 that are in communication with the servers 32,and could include a relational database (such as a SQL database), or anyother suitable data storage device. The data storage devices 34 areconfigured to host data 35 (including the plurality of electronicportfolios), as will be described in further detail below.

In particular, the data 35 in the data storage devices 34 may includeone or more digital items that are associated with one or moreelectronic portfolios. For example, the data 35 may include differentartifacts, collections, presentations, comments, assessments and/orreflections in association with one or more electronic portfolios, aswill be described in greater detail below.

The data storage devices 34 may also store authorization criteria thatdefine what actions may be taken by the users 12, 14 on the digitalitems that are associated with the electronic portfolios.

The authorization criteria may include at least one permission profileassociated with at least one of the digital items. Each permissionprofile may be set by one of the users 12, 14 who associates aparticular digital item with a particular electronic portfolio.

The authorization criteria may also include at least one globalconfiguration profile associated with the plurality of electronicportfolios. The global configuration profile could be a system widevariable or setting that sets limits on or controls what actions can betaken by the users 12, 14 (e.g. whether certain elements or modules ofthe system 10 are visible).

The authorization criteria may also include at least one securityprofile associated with at least one role. For example, one role couldbe defined for users who are primarily responsible for teaching orassessing work product from other users. Users with such a role may havea security profile that allows them to post assignments to theelectronic portfolios associated with users that are enrolled in aparticular course.

In some embodiments, one particular authorization criterion may overrideanother authorization criterion. For example, even though a particularpermissions profile for a particular digital item (e.g. an artifact orcollection) may not allow other users to comment on that particulardigital item, users that belong to certain roles may have securitysettings that allow them to override the permissions profile and commenton that digital item.

In some embodiments, some of the authorization criteria may be definedby specific users 40 who may or may not be part of the educationalcommunity 16. For example, users 40 may be permitted to define globalconfiguration profiles for the system 10, define roles within the system10, set security profiles associated with the roles, and assign theroles to particular users 12, 14 in the system 10. The users 40 may useanother computing device 42 (e.g. a desktop computer) to accomplishthese tasks.

The data storage devices 34 may also be configured to store otherinformation, such as personal information about the users 12, 14 of thesystem 10, information about which courses the users 12, 14 are enrolledin, roles to which the users 12, 14 are assigned, particular interestsof the users 12, 14 and so on.

The servers 32 and data storage devices 34 may also be configured toprovide other electronic learning capabilities (e.g. allowing users toenroll in courses), and/or may be in communication with one or moreother service providers that provide such other electronic learningcapabilities.

In some embodiments, the system 10 may also have one or more backupservers 31 that may duplicate some or all of the data 35 stored on thedata storage devices 34. The backup servers 31 may be desirable toprevent data loss in the event of an accident such as a fire, flooding,or theft.

In some embodiments, the backup servers 31 may be directly connected tothe educational service provider 30 but located within the system 10 ata different physical location. For example, the backup servers 31 couldbe located at a remote storage location at a distance from the serviceprovider 30, and the service provider 30 could connect to the backupserver 31 using a secure communications protocol to ensure that theconfidentiality of the data 35 is maintained.

In some embodiments, one or more public users 50 may be provided withaccess to specific digital items associated with particular electronicportfolios. For example, the public users 50 may or may not be part ofthe educational community 16, but may be interested in viewing andtaking other actions on the digital items in the system 10. For example,the public users 50 may be parents or family of the first user 12, andmay be interested in viewing a particular presentation the first user 12has prepared.

In some examples, the public users 50 may not be required toauthenticate themselves to the educational service provider 30 (e.g. byentering login information and/or a password) to gain access to thesystem 10. In other cases, the public users 50 may be required toauthenticate themselves (e.g. by providing login information).

As introduced above, the system 10 may provide a social electroniclearning environment for the users 12, 14 by hosting a plurality ofelectronic portfolios. Each electronic portfolio may be associated withone or more users 12, 14 in the system 10. For example, in someembodiments each individual user 12, 14 may have their own personalelectronic portfolio. In other embodiments, multiple users 12, 14 mayshare a common electronic portfolio (e.g. the members of a lab group ina biology course may have a common electronic portfolio for the workperformed as part of their lab group).

Each user 12, 14 who is associated with a particular electronicportfolio can generally associate one or more digital items with thatelectronic portfolio. Digital items might include artifacts (e.g.documents, text files, images, media files, homework assignments,reports, etc.), collections of artifacts, presentations prepared usingcollections and artifacts, as well as assessments, comments and personalreflections on artifacts, collections, and presentations, etc.

The electronic portfolios may generally integrate with various othercomponents of an electronic learning system. In particular theelectronic portfolios may be affected by elements such as what coursesusers 12, 14 are enrolled in, what assignments or deadlines users 12, 14currently have, and/or what assignments and/or learning goals have beendefined within the educational community 16.

Generally, the electronic portfolios may help users 12, 14 organize andcontextualize their personal learning experiences, and coordinate users12, 14 with any formal learning they may be involved with at aparticular institution.

Turning now to FIG. 1B, as shown, users 12, 14 and 40 may define anothereducational community 16 a. As will be described in greater detailbelow, the users 12, 14, 40 may define different authorization criteriawithin one or more organizations 62 (e.g. one or more educationalinstitutions), within one or more departments 64 within a particularorganization 62 (e.g. within the math, science and biology faculties ofa particular university), or within one or more courses 66 (e.g. math,biology, etc.) offered by the organization 62.

For example, user 40 may be permitted to define global configurationprofiles across the entire organization 62, define roles within theparticular department 64 (e.g. members of the math faculty), setsecurity profiles associated with those roles, and assign roles to otherusers (e.g. users 12, 14) in the educational community 16 a.

Another user 14 may determined whether particular digital items areavailable for viewing in association based on factors such as whetherthose users enrolled in a particular course 66, or based on a “friends”list for that user 14.

In some examples, the users 12, 14, 40 may also define authorizationcriteria for other users 70 in other systems 74 (e.g. external systems,where the users 70 may be public users 50 that belong to another group72, or other systems for providing social electronic learning).

Turning now to FIG. 2, illustrated therein is a home page 102 for anelectronic portfolio 100 that may be provided using the system of FIG.1A.

The electronic portfolio 100 may generally be presented using anysuitable techniques, such as via a series of web pages that may beaccessed using a web browser (e.g. Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari,Chrome, etc.). For example, as shown, the electronic portfolio 100 ispresented as a webpage 103 that includes a plurality of display areas(e.g. one or more frames).

In FIG. 2, the webpage includes a navigation area 104 provided on a leftside of the webpage 103, and a content area 109 provided on a right sideof the webpage 103. It will be understood, however, that the particularposition and size of the areas on the webpage may be generally varied.

The navigation area 104 of each electronic portfolio 100 may include aplurality of links (which may be embodied as buttons, as shown) thatlink to various pages associated with the electronic portfolio 100.

The navigation area 104 may also serve as a menu that provides aconsistent user interface to allow users to more easily navigate throughthe electronic portfolio 100. For example the navigation area 104 mayinclude a dashboard button 116 associated with a dashboard page 118 (asgenerally shown in FIG. 3) so that when the dashboard button 116 isselected (e.g. using a cursor, a touch screen, a keyboard, etc.), thedashboard page 118 is displayed. The dashboard page 118 may be a mainscreen for each electronic portfolio 100, and may provide users withvarious search and browsing options for accessing other pages andvarious digital items within each electronic portfolio 100.

The navigation area 104 may also include an artifact button 120associated with an artifact management page 122 (as generally shown inFIG. 8) and configured so that when the artifact button 120 is selected,the artifact management page 122 is displayed. The artifact managementpage 122 may allow users to manage the artifacts in their electronicportfolios 100 as will be described in further detail below. Forexample, the users may associate digital items with the electronicportfolio 100 by uploading or importing files, filling out forms, etc.

The navigation area 104 may also include a collections button 124associated with a collections management page 126 (as generally shown inFIG. 26). The collections management page 126 may allow each user tocollect and group digital items together, including, for example,artifacts, comments, reflections and presentations, both from their ownelectronic portfolio 100 and from the electronic portfolios of otherusers.

The navigation area 104 may also include a presentations button 128associated with a presentations page 130 (as generally shown in FIG.34). The presentations page 130 may allow each user 12 to presentdigital items (e.g. artifacts, reflections, comments, etc.) to a definedset of users using presentations that include the digital items as pageelements. The presentations page 130 may also allow presentations to becustomized and personalized (e.g. by changing layouts, selectingdifferent backgrounds, etc.)

The navigation area 104 may also include a themes button 132 associatedwith a themes page 134 (as generally shown in FIG. 39). The themes page134 may allow the user 12 to modify themes for use in the presentations,such as by changing page layouts, color schemes, etc.

The navigation area 104 may also include a reflections button 136associated with a reflections page 138 (as generally shown in FIG. 40).The reflections page 138 may allow each user to reflect on their owndigital items, for example, and/or list personal thoughts and/orinformation about their goals. In some examples, one or more reflectionsmay be associated with one or more digital items.

The navigation area 104 may also include a shared items button 140 thatis associated with a shared items page 142 (as generally shown in FIG.41). The shared items page 142 may allow users to see the items withintheir electronic portfolio that they are currently sharing with otherusers, and may also allow each user to see with whom (i.e. which otherusers) they are sharing items.

The navigation area 104 may also include an explore button 144associated with an explore page 146 (as generally shown in FIG. 42). Theexplore page 146 may allow each user to see what items from other usersare currently being shared with them, as well as identify who among theother users are sharing items.

The navigation area 104 may also include a permissions button 148associated with a permissions profiles page 150 (as generally shown inFIG. 43). The permissions profiles page 150 may allow each user 12 tosee what permissions portfolios have been defined (either by them or byother users 14), as well as allow users 12, 14 to define new permissionprofiles and add or delete particular users from a permissions profile.

The navigation area 104 may also include a forms button (not shown inFIG. 2) that links to a forms page 260 (as shown in FIG. 44). The formspage may allow users to create customized forms that can be filled outby users and associated with one or more electronic portfolios 100 asdigital items.

In some embodiments, the navigation area 104 generally remains in thesame place and with the same content (e.g. buttons) as users navigatethrough the electronic portfolio 100, thus tending to provide aconsistent user interface so that users can more easily navigate throughthe electronic portfolio 100. However, the content in the content area109 is generally updated as the users move from page to page, and withinsub-elements of each page.

For example, as shown in FIG. 2, when the home page 102 is displayed,the content area 109 can include a list of common tasks that a user maywish to perform. Generally, the home page 102 will be the first screenthat a user sees when accessing the electronic portfolio 100.Accordingly, by presenting common tasks on the home page 102, users maybe more quickly able to perform a desired action.

As also shown in FIG. 2, the home page 102 may include a welcome orintroductory message (e.g. “Welcome to the eportfolio” and theaccompanying text, generally above the content area 109). In someexamples, this welcome message may be static. In other examples, thewelcome screen may be customized for each particular user, and/or may beupdated to notify the user of various things (e.g. upcoming events,deadlines, reminders about tasks to complete, etc.)

Turning now to FIG. 3, illustrated therein is the dashboard page 118 aswill be described in more detail. The dashboard page 118 tends to be amain source of information within the electronic portfolio 100, andincludes a number of page elements, including additional areas that maynot be present on the home page 102.

In particular, the dashboard page 118 may include the navigation area104 and the content area 109, but may also include a profile area 106,and a toolbar area 108.

The profile area 106 may display a brief profile about the user or usersthat are associated with the particular electronic portfolio 100. Forexample, the profile area may include a profile picture, list the firstand last name of a user associated with that electronic profile, displayan email address for that user, and include a link that can be selectedto display a more detailed profile. In embodiments where multiple usersare associated with one electronic portfolio, the profile area 106 maydisplay other information, such as a list of the users associated withthe electronic portfolio (e.g. the members of a particular lab group,etc.).

The toolbar area 108 generally includes a plurality of links (which maybe embodied as buttons) that are associated with various “sub-pages” oralternative pages associated with each particular page. Selecting thelinks or buttons from within the toolbar area 108 may change theparticular content displayed in the content area 109.

For example, as shown, when the dashboard page 118 is active the toolbararea 108 includes a dashboard button 152 (and which when selected mayload the dashboard page 118 shown in FIG. 3), a search button 154, aninvites button 156, a “My Profile” button 158, and a settings button160.

The search button 154 can load a search page 155 into the content area109 (as generally shown in FIG. 4). The search page 155 has a searchfield 155 a which can allow users to enter keywords therein to searchfor various digital items (e.g. artifacts, collections and otherobjects), and may also have a results field 155 b that can displayresults from the search.

The invites button 156 may display a search invites page 157 (as shownin FIG. 5). The search invites page 157 has a search field 157 a thatallows user to search for any invites that they may have received, andwhich may show the resulting invites in a results field 157 b. In somecases, the invites may be invitations to view and/or provide comments orassessments on digital items that other users have prepared.

The “My Profile” button 158 may load a profile page 159 (as generallyshown in FIG. 6). The profile page 159 may allow users to configuretheir profiles, such as general information 159 a about the user (e.g. aprofile picture, a nickname, birthday, hometown, and homepage), contactinformation 159 b (e.g. email, phone numbers, address information,etc.), education and work information 159 c (e.g. employer, schoolsattended, etc.), and other personal information 159 d (e.g. interestsand hobbies, favorite music, books, etc.). The profile page 159 may alsodisplay system information 159 e (e.g. account name, organizationalidentification number, etc.) that generally cannot be configured by theuser associated with that electronic portfolio 100 (but which, in someembodiments, may be configured by another user, such as the user 40).

In some examples, some of the information in the profile page 159 may beshown or displayed in the profile area 106 or in a full profile (notshown). In some examples, the user may also have the option ofdetermining whether certain data may or may not be visible to otherusers (e.g. the user may not want to share birthday information, phonenumbers, or address information).

In some embodiments, the personal profile for a particular user may bedisplayed to other users differently depending on at least one context.For example, if the other users are members of a particular logicalgroup 18 (e.g. a lab group), then the users within that group may bemore willing to share personal information. Similarly, certain users maybe identified as having one or more levels of friendship, and the typeand amount of information may be adjusted accordingly (e.g. closefriends may be able to see personal information such as birthdayinformation and contact info, while other types of friends may receive arestricted view of the profile). Furthermore, certain users (e.g. userswho may be assessing the work of other users) may be presented with lesspersonal information.

The settings button 160 may load a settings page 161 (as generally shownin FIG. 7) and which may allow each user to customize certain aspects oftheir electronic portfolio 100. In particular, the settings page 161 mayallow users to change dashboard display options 161 a (e.g. what content110, 112, 114 will be displayed in the content area 109 when thedashboard page 118 is displayed, and in what order will the content bedisplayed), default settings 161 b (e.g. will comments and/orassessments of digital items be allowed by default), invitation deliverymethods 161 c (e.g. will invites be emailed), start page 161 d (e.g.will the home page 102 be the first page that is displayed or willanother page be displayed), and default permissions profiles 161 e (e.g.should a default permissions profile be used when digital items areuploaded or associated with the electronic portfolio 100, and/or shouldany default tags be applied, etc.).

Turning again to FIG. 3, the dashboard page 118 may display variouscontent elements (and as may be customized using the default settings161 b) within the content area 109. For example, as shown the contentarea 109 in this example includes recent comments 110, recent invites112, and recently modified items.

The recent comments 110 may include comments that have recently beenassociated with a particular digital item (e.g. an artifact) in theelectronic portfolio 100. For example, as shown the recent commentsinclude a comment on the digital item entitled “Peter's new Artifact”.

The recent invites 112 may include invites that the user has recentlyreceived, in particular invitations to comment and/or assess digitalitems associated with other users' electronic portfolios. For example,as shown, the recent invites include at least two invitations to checkout other digital items.

The recently modified items 114 may include digital items that the userhas recently modified within their own electronic portfolio 100, and/ormay contain digital items that other users have recently modified inother electronic portfolios. For example, as shown the recently modifieditems 114 include two collections (entitled “My Third Collection” and“new collection 2”), one artifact (entitled “Peter's new Artifact”), andone reflection (entitled “My thoughts on this”).

In some embodiments, whether a particular comment, item or invite isconsidered “recent” may depend on various factors, such as the timeelapsed since that object was created or last updated, as well as theamount of activity in a particular electronic portfolio (e.g. electronicportfolios with a lot of activity may characterize objects as “recent”for a shorter time period), and/or based on the length of time betweensystem accesses by the user of that electronic portfolio.

Turning now to FIG. 8, the artifacts management page 122 is shown infurther detail. For greater clarity, the navigation area 104 has beenomitted from this figure, and the navigation area 104 may generally beprovided to the left of the content area 109 in the artifacts managementpage 122 similar to the layout of the dashboard page 118.

As shown, on this page the toolbar area 108 may include two buttons, a“My Artifacts” button 170 and an add artifact button 172. The “MyArtifacts” button 170 generally displays the content as shown in FIG. 8,while the add artifact button 172 may be used to add an artifact to theelectronic portfolio 100 as detailed below.

As shown in FIG. 8, the content area 109 includes several page elements,including a recently modified artifacts area 174, a search field 176,and an artifact list 178.

Similar to the recently modified items 114 as described above, therecently modified artifacts 174 may display artifacts (as opposed todigital items more generally) that have recently been modified. In thisexample, three artifacts are displayed, entitled “TEST ARTIFACT”,“Untitled2” and “interesting”.

The search field 176 may allow users to search for particular artifacts,for example using meta-data associated with the artifacts (e.g. keywordsor tags and/or other meta-data that may be associated with theartifacts, such as who created an artifact, or the date the artifact wascreated or last modified, etc.)

Finally, the artifact list 178 may display a list of some or allartifacts 180 associated with the electronic portfolio 100. Toaccommodate a large number of artifacts, the list may be broken intoseveral sub pages through which users to navigate. As shown, theartifact list 178 generally includes three artifacts, entitled “TESTARTIFACT”, “Untitled2” and “interesting”.

Generally, an artifact may be a base element in each electronicportfolio 100, and can represent objects such as a file, a learningenvironment object, and/or a form. In particular, artifacts may include,for example, Microsoft Word documents (or other word processingdocuments), PowerPoint presentations, quiz attempts, discussion posts,dropbox folder submissions, completed forms, media files (e.g. movies,pictures, music), links to external files, documents, and generally anyother type of digital file.

Once associated with a particular electronic portfolio, digital items(e.g. the artifacts or collections) can be organized and categorized,for example by using keyword tags or by creating collections as will bedescribed in greater detail below.

As shown in FIG. 9, the artifact list 178 may display details about eachparticular artifact 180, such as the name of the artifact 182 (“TESTARTIFACT”), a description 184 associated with the artifact 180 (andwhich may reference a filename associated with the artifact, for example“demo.txt”), various tags 186 or keywords that are associated with theartifact 180, audit details 188 (e.g. the date and time that theartifact 180 was last modified), actions 190 that can be performed onthat artifact (e.g. edit the artifact, adjust the permissions profilefor that artifact, and/or delete that artifact) and which may beactivated by selecting icons in the actions 190 region, as well as anicon 192 that is associated with that artifact 180.

The icon 192 may be configured so as to quickly convey information aboutthe artifact 180, such as by using different icons 192 for differentartifacts 180. For example, the icon 192 may be configured to look likea document when the artifact 180 includes a word processing document(e.g. a .txt or .doc file), the icon 192 may look like a picture whenthe artifact 180 includes an image (e.g. a .jpg or .bmp file), and/orthe icon 192 could also be a thumbnail view of the artifact 180, and/orexternal content stored in another website.

Turning now to FIGS. 8 and 10, when the user selects the add artifactbutton 172, an add artifact page 194 may be displayed as shown in FIG.10. The add artifact page 194 may list various ways that an artifact canbe added to or associated with a particular electronic portfolio 100.

For example, an artifact may be added by uploading a file (e.g. adding afile from the user's computer, locker or another location), creating afile (e.g. creating a new HTML file that may contain formatting, text,pictures, etc.), creating a link (e.g. using a URL to reference anobject in existence on a website, and which may be remote from andexternal to the system 10), importing a file (e.g. by importing resultsfrom a particular course, such as quiz results, dropbox feedback, gradesfor the user, progress indicators, etc.), and/or by filling out a form(e.g. completing a form presented through one of the courses that theuser is enrolled in).

As shown in FIG. 10, for example, a user may choose to associate anartifact with the electronic portfolio by uploading an existing fileusing an upload file page 196 (which may be activated by selecting theappropriate link on the add artifact page 194). As shown in FIG. 11, theupload file page 196 may include the name and/or path of the file 198 tobe uploaded (which may be selected using a conventional dialog box as isgenerally known), a display name 200 that may be entered by the user andwhich will be displayed within the electronic portfolio 100 inassociation with that artifact (and which may help decipher the identityof the artifact, particularly where the file name 198 is especiallycryptic), a description 202 of the artifact (which may be entered by theuser), and one or more tags 206 (e.g. at least one keyword) associatedwith the artifact.

In some examples, at least some of the keywords or tags 206 may bepredefined, and may be selected by the users (e.g. using a drop down boxor pick list). In other examples, the keywords or tags 206 may bedynamically defined, for example by entering text in a free format in atextbox 204.

Generally, the servers 32 in the system 10 may be configured such thatusers may perform keyword searches across electronic portfolios, andreceive results (e.g. digital items identified to the users) based onthe meta-data (e.g. tags or keywords) associated therewith. This canallow users to discover not only digital items of which they werealready aware (e.g. their own artifacts or artifacts of their friends)but also digital items about which that particular user was previouslyunaware. For example, when digital artifacts are added to the pluralityof electronic portfolios in the system 10, keyword searching may returndigital items added by other users (in particular unknown users) wherethere is similarity or a match in the tags.

Once the artifact has been associated with the electronic profile 100,then the user may be able to configure the artifact using aconfiguration page 208 (as generally shown in FIG. 12).

For example, the edit artifact page 208 may display and allow editing ofthe artifact details 210 (including the name, description and particularfile in the artifact) and tags 212 associated with the artifact. Theedit artifact page 208 may also allow settings 214 for that artifact tobe modified (e.g. will comments and/or assessments of digital items beallowed), and rubrics to be associated therewith (e.g. using the addrubrics page 220 as shown in FIG. 13). In some examples, the settingsmay default according to the default settings 161 b generally asdescribed above.

The edit artifact page 208 may also include presentation information 216(e.g. a reference to presentations that contain this artifact and/orallow this artifact to be added to presentations) and collectioninformation 218 (e.g. a reference to collections that contain thisartifact and/or allow this artifact to be added to collections).

As shown in FIG. 13, the add rubrics page 220 may allow users to selectrubrics 220 b (while leaving other rubrics unselected 220 a) to beassociated with a particular artifact (or another digital item).Generally, rubrics may assist when assessing digital items by providingguidance to the user performing assessment on that digital item, and mayprovide a reference for users who are submitting digital items forassessment so that they can better understand how they will beevaluated.

In some embodiments, at least one of the digital items is an assignmentitem prepared by a first user (or one or more first users) and which ispresented to a second user (or one or more second users) for assessment.The assessment of the assignment item may be performed using one or morerubrics. In some cases, after each assignment item is submitted forassessment, that assignment item may be locked against subsequentchanges (e.g. the first user can no longer make changes to that versionwhile they are waiting for assessment feedback).

For example, the assignment item could be prepared in response to anexamination, and may include answers to questions presented on theexamination. Accordingly, the first user may not be able to changeanswers after submitting the response for assessment (otherwise thefirst user may be able to cheat, and/or the users performing theevaluation may be inconvenienced by having the content of the assignmentchange during the evaluation).

In some cases, it may be beneficial if particular questions in anexamination can be reused. Accordingly, the assessment of a particularresponse to an examination may be returned to the first user without theplurality of questions attached thereto (so that the response cannot beused as an answer key). More generally, each assessment of an assignmentitem may be returned to the first user only with data that the seconduser has determined is acceptable or should be returned to the firstuser.

Turning now to FIG. 14, the completed artifact may be displayed using aview artifact page 222. The view artifact page 222 may display variousactions 224 that can performed on the artifact (e.g. open artifact, editartifact, download, delete, add to presentation, add to collection, edittags, and view associated collections and/or presentations).

The view artifact page 222 may also allow the user who uploaded thatparticular artifact to post reflections 226 associated with thatartifact, which may be personal thoughts of the user. For example, asshown in FIG. 15, reflections 226 may be added using an add reflectionspage 227, which may allow a particular reflection to have a title 227 a,comments 227 b (which may include text, html, links, etc.), as well astags 227 c.

The view artifact page 222 may also allow the user and/or other users toprovide comments 228 about the artifact. For example, as shown in FIG.16, an add comments page 229 may allow general comments to be made ontopics such as the content or quality of the artifact, or generally anyother topic using a comment field 229 a (and which may include text,html, links, etc.).

Finally, the view artifact page 222 may also allow users to provide anassessment 230 of the artifact. For example, as shown in FIG. 17, an addassessment page 231 may allow users to select one or more rubrics 231 a(which may correspond to the rubrics added using the add rubrics page220) and to select a particular evaluation level 231 b for that artifactbased on the selected rubric 231 a.

Generally, actions that users may take on particular digital items (e.g.artifacts, collections, etc.) may depend on various authorizationcriteria. For example, authorization criteria may include at least oneglobal configuration profile associated with the plurality of electronicportfolios in the system 10. One example global configuration profilemay control or limit whether public access to the system 10 (e.g. bypublic users 50) is allowed, and/or if allowed, what authenticationsteps may be required. Another global configuration profile could relateto what modules may be available to particular users (e.g. whetherparticular components of the system, such as the presentation module,have been purchased and/or installed).

In some embodiments, the authorization criteria may include at least onesecurity profile associated with at least one role, each role includingat least one of the plurality of users.

In some embodiments, the authorization criteria may include at least onepermission-specific criteria, such as whether users are enrolled inparticular courses.

As shown in FIG. 18, the authorization criteria may include at least onepermission profile associated with at least one digital items. Forexample, using a permissions profile page 232 for a digital item (e.g. aparticular artifact), a particular user may be able to set at least oneof general availability criteria 234 and user specific access criteria236 for that artifact.

The general availability criteria 234 may include setting visibilitycriteria 234 a for that artifact, such as whether the artifact is alwaysvisible to other users, is always hidden to other users, or is visibleonly for a particular period of time (e.g. during a specific daterange). Whether a particular digital item (e.g. an artifact) is visiblemay limit whether other users can actually view the digital item, and/ormay affect whether the digital item can be located when the other usersperform a search.

As shown in FIG. 19, in some embodiments, the users may set userspecific access criteria 236 for each artifact, which may include accesscriteria based on permissions profiles 236 a and/or based on individualusers 236 b.

For example, as shown in FIG. 20, one or more permissions profiles 236 amay be selected for a particular artifact, and in some cases (as shownin FIG. 21), users within that profile may be sent an invitation 238 toview and/or perform other actions on that artifact.

Furthermore, permissions may be determined based on individual users 236b. For example (as shown in FIG. 22), one or more individual users maybe added to the permissions profile using a pick course page 240, whichmay allow one or more courses to be selected (e.g. using a search field242 or a list 244) in which users are enrolled, and then (as shown inFIG. 23), particular users 248 within the selected course(s) can beadded using an add users page 246.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 24, generally the permissions for allusers that were added at the add users page 246 may be configured usinga permission page 252, which can control or limit the actions that thoseusers can take on that artifact. For example, users may be provided withpermission to take some or all of the following actions: view artifact,see comments from others, add comments, see assessments from others, addassessments, and edit artifact.

Users can choose to allow or deny comments and/or assessments fordigital items, including whether comments and assessments can be viewedor added for specific users as desired.

Turning now to FIG. 25, the search field 176 as introduced above will bedescribed in greater detail. As mentioned above, the search field 176may allow users to search for particular artifacts, for example usingmeta-data (e.g. keywords or tags) associated with the digital items(e.g. artifacts, collections, and/or other meta-data that may beassociated with the digital items, such as who created a digital item,date the digital item was created or last modified, etc.)

As shown in FIG. 25, in addition to searching by entering keywords 176a, the search field 176 may be expanded to include various searchoptions, such as limiting the general scope of meta-data searched 176 b,adding date and/or time criteria 176 c, as well as other searchlimitations 176 d (such as searching within specific collections,specific presentations, and/or specific reflections, based on certainfile types, and/or file sizes, etc.).

Turning now to FIG. 26, the collections management page 126 will now bedescribed in greater detail. A collection is another instance of adigital item (like an artifact), and generally all manipulations thatcan be performed in respect of artifacts (as described above) can beperformed on other digital items, including collections.

Each collection allows one or more users to collect and group one ormore digital items together, including artifacts, comments, reflections,assessments, and/or presentations. In some cases the digital items in acollection may be local digital items taken from their own electronicportfolio 100 and/or remote digital items from the electronic portfoliosof other users or from outside the system 10.

As shown, the collections management page 126 may display variouselements within the content area 109, including recently modifiedcollections 300 (which may be generally similar to recently modifiedartifacts 174 as described above), a search field 302 for searching forcollections (which may be generally similar to the search field 176 forsearching artifacts as described above), and a collection list 304(which may be similar to the artifact list 178 as described above).

As shown, when the collections management page 126 is displayed, thetoolbar area 108 may include a “My Collections” button 306 (and whichgenerally presents the collections management page 126 as shown in FIG.26), and a new collection button 308.

When the new collection button 308 is selected, a new collection page310 may be displayed (as shown in FIG. 27). Adding a new collection isgenerally similar to adding a new artifact, and may allow for auser-defined title 312, a description 314, and tags 316 to be associatedwith that collection.

Once created (e.g. by saving the new collection), the new collectionpage 310 may expand to allow digital items to be added to the collection318 (and/or may list digital items that have already been addedthereto). The new collection page 310 may also allow the collection tobe customized to receive comments and/or assessments 320 (as shown inFIG. 28).

In some embodiments (as shown in FIG. 29), at least one digital item(e.g. a plurality of artifacts) may be added to the collection based ona manual selection of digital items (e.g. by selecting the link 322 a onthe add items page 322 to load the add to collection page 324 as shownin FIG. 30). Using the add to collection page 324, users may search forparticular digital items to add, and then manually select the desireditems to add them to the collection.

In some embodiments, at least one of the digital items added to thecollection may be associated therewith based on dynamic associationsformed using at least one keyword or tag associated with the digitalartifacts. For example, by clicking on the link 322 b as shown on theadd items page 322, a dynamic add items page 326 may be used to adddigital items to the collection (as shown in FIG. 31). A particular listname 328 (e.g. “Math and Others”) may be associated with one or moretags 330 (e.g. “math”, “biology”, “science”). When saved, the tags 330may be used to automatically search for particular digital items, andwhen a similarity or a match is found, automatically add the matcheditems to that collection.

In some embodiments, each collection may include local digital itemsassociated with a particular electronic portfolio and remote digitalitems associated with a different electronic portfolio. In some cases,the remote digital items may be linked digital items external to thesocial electronic learning system 10 (e.g. digital files on anexternally hosted web server, such as a You Tube video).

As shown in FIG. 32, the collections may be viewed using a viewcollection page 332, and which may allow various reflections, commentsand/or assessments to be associated with that collection.

As shown in FIG. 33, each collection may also have a permissions profileassociated therewith using a permissions profile page 334 for theparticular collection. Similar to the permissions profile page 232described above with respect to artifacts, users may use the permissionsprofile page 334 to set at least one of general availability criteria336 and user specific access criteria 338 for a collection.

Turning now to FIG. 34, the presentations management page 130 will bedescribed in greater detail. The presentations management page 130 isgenerally similar to the artifacts management page 122 and collectionsmanagement page 126, and includes a search field 400 for searching forpresentations, and a presentation list 402. As shown, the toolbar area108 includes a presentations button 404 (which generally displays thepresentations management page 130 as shown in FIG. 34) and a newpresentation button 406.

As shown in FIGS. 35 to 38, a presentation is another specific instanceof a digital item (similar to artifacts and collections), and may becreated and/or edited using a presentation page 410 that allowsconfiguration of the properties 412, the content/layout 414, the banner416, and/or the theme 418 of that presentation.

Generally, each presentation may include one or more digital items (e.g.artifacts, collections, reflections, etc.) displayed in association witha particular theme, and which may include presenting the digital itemsas several pages having common color schemes, layouts, arrangements,etc. In other examples, the presentation may include only contentgenerated for the specific presentation (e.g. a presentation may notinclude any digital items).

In some embodiments, the presentation may be shared with external users(e.g. public users 50) who may not be required to login to the system 10to access the presentation.

Turning now to FIG. 39, as shown the themes page 134 may allow the userto modify themes 418 for use in presentations, such as by changing pagelayouts (e.g. the order and location of page elements for eachparticular page), color schemes, default presentations, etc.

In some embodiments, certain aspects of digital items may be locked downor configured based at least one global theme variable. For example, thethemes 418 for presentations may include some branding elements that areassociated with the particular educational service provider 30 (e.g. acolor scheme or logo associated with a particular university or otherinstitution may be automatically added as part of one or more themes).

Turning now to FIG. 40, as shown the reflections page 138 may allow eachuser to reflect on their own digital items, and/or list personalthoughts and/or information about their goals. In some examples, one ormore reflections may be associated with one or more digital itemsgenerally as described above. Each reflection is another instance of adigital item, may include its own meta-data (e.g. keywords or tags)allowing it to be searchable, and can be added to collections,presentations, etc.

Turning now to FIG. 41, as shown the shared items page 142 may allowusers to see the items within their electronic portfolios that they arecurrently sharing with other users, and may also allow each user to seewhom (i.e. which other users) they are sharing digital items with.

Turning now to FIG. 42, illustrated therein is the explore page 146. Theexplore page 146 may allow each user to see what items from other usersare currently being shared with them, as well as identify who among theother users are sharing digital items.

Turning now to FIG. 43, illustrated therein is the permissions profilespage 150. The permissions profiles page 150 may allow users to see whatpermissions portfolios have been defined (either by them or by otherusers), as well as allow users to define new permission profiles and addor delete particular users from a permissions profile.

Turning now to FIG. 44, illustrated therein is the forms page 260. Theforms page 260 can allow users to create new forms (another instance ofa digital item) using a new forms page 262 (as shown in FIG. 45). Oncecreated, these new forms can be populated with various elements 266(e.g. data fields) using the edit forms page 264 (as shown in FIG. 46).For example, some data fields (e.g. first name, last name, emailaddress) may be predefined by the system and can be selected from a picklist. Other elements, like customized fields, and/or selection tools(e.g. radio buttons, drop down boxes, etc.) may be defined by users.Other elements (e.g. separators) can also be selected from a pick list.

The completed form can generally be previewed using a preview page 268(as shown in FIG. 47), which can include some data pulled directly fromthe system (e.g. user names, nick names, etc.) and other data that mustbe entered by the user.

While the above description provides examples of some embodiments, itwill be appreciated that some features and/or functions of the describedembodiments are susceptible to modification without departing from thespirit and principles of operation of the described embodiments.Accordingly, what has been described above has been intended to beillustrative of some embodiments of the invention and non-limiting andit will be understood by persons skilled in the art that other variantsand modifications may be made without departing from the scope of theclaims appended hereto.

1. A social electronic learning system, comprising: a) a plurality ofcomputing devices for communicating with a plurality of users in aneducational community; b) at least one server in communication with eachof the plurality of computing devices, each server in communication withat least one data storage device configured to host a plurality ofelectronic portfolios, each electronic portfolio associated with one ormore users of the plurality of users in the educational community; andc) wherein each server is configured such that one or more users mayassociate one or more digital items with each electronic portfolio, andthe plurality of users may take actions on the digital items in eachelectronic portfolio depending on authorization criteria.
 2. The systemof claim 1, wherein the authorization criteria includes at least onepermission profile associated with at least one of the digital items. 3.The system of claim 1, wherein the authorization criteria include atleast one global configuration profile associated with the plurality ofelectronic portfolios.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein the pluralityof users includes at least one user authorized to set at least oneglobal configuration profile.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein theauthorization criteria includes at least one security profile associatedwith at least one role, each role including at least one of theplurality of users.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the digital itemsinclude at least one of artifacts, reflections, collections andpresentations.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the actions that may betaken include commenting on at least one of the digital items.
 8. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the actions that may be taken includeassessing at least one of the digital items.
 9. The system of claim 1,wherein the actions that may be taken include at least one of reading,modifying, sharing, and creating at least one of the digital items. 10.The system of claim 1, wherein the authorization criteria include atleast one permission-specific criterion.
 11. The system of claim 10,wherein the permission-specific criteria include enrollment data for theplurality of users.
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein each server isconfigured so that one or more users may have different levels ofcontrol over their associated electronic portfolios.
 13. The system ofclaim 1, wherein each server is configured so that the plurality ofusers may tag digital items using at least one keyword.
 14. The systemof claim 1, wherein each server is configured such that each user mayperform searches across the plurality of electronic portfolios.
 15. Thesystem of claim 14, wherein results of each search return digital itemsbased on the keywords associated therewith.
 16. The system of claim 15,wherein the results of each search return digital items about which thatparticular user was previously unaware.
 17. The system of claim 15,wherein at least some of the keywords are dynamically defined by eachuser.
 18. The system of claim 15, wherein at least some of the keywordsare predefined.
 19. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of thedigital items is an assignment item prepared by a first user andpresented to a second user for assessment.
 20. The system of claim 19,wherein the assessment of the assignment item by the second user isperformed using at least one rubric.
 21. The system of claim 19,wherein, after each assignment item is submitted for assessment, thatassignment item is locked against subsequent changes.
 22. The system ofclaim 19, wherein the assignment item is a response to an examinationand includes answers to at least one question presented to the firstuser in association with the examination.
 23. The system of claim 22,wherein the assessment of the assignment item is returned to the firstuser only with data that the second user has determined should bereturned.
 24. The system of claim 23, wherein the assessment of theassignment item is returned to the first user without the plurality ofquestions.
 25. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one digital itemincludes at least one collection, each collection including a pluralityof digital items.
 26. The system of claim 25, wherein the plurality ofdigital items in each collection may include local digital itemsassociated with a particular electronic portfolio and remote digitalitems not associated with that particular electronic portfolio.
 27. Thesystem of claim 26, wherein at least one of the remote digital items isassociated with a different electronic portfolio.
 28. The system ofclaim 26, wherein at least one of the remote digital items is a linkeditem external to the social electronic learning system.
 29. The systemof claim 25, wherein at least one of the plurality of digital items ineach collection is associated therewith based on a manual selection ofat least one digital item.
 30. The system of claim 25, wherein at leastone of the plurality of digital items in each collection is associatedtherewith based on dynamic associations formed using at least onekeyword associated with at least one digital item.
 31. The system ofclaim 1, wherein each user has a personal profile, and the personalprofile is displayed to other users differently depending on at leastone context.
 32. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of theelectronic portfolios includes at least one presentation.
 33. The systemof claim 32, wherein each presentation includes at least one digitalitem and has at least one theme associated therewith.
 34. The system ofclaim 32, wherein at least a portion of each theme may be controlled byat least one global theme variable.
 35. The system of claim 32, whereineach presentation can be shared with other users based on a permissionsprofile set by the user creating the presentation.
 36. A method ofproviding a social electronic learning system, comprising: a)identifying a plurality of users in an educational community; b)providing a plurality of computing devices for communicating with theplurality of users in the educational community; c) providing at leastone server in communication with each of the plurality of computingdevices, each server having at least one data storage device coupledthereto and configured to host a plurality of electronic portfolios,each electronic portfolio associated with one or more users of theplurality of users in the educational community; and d) wherein eachserver is configured such that one or more users may associate one ormore digital items with each electronic portfolio, and the plurality ofusers may take actions on the digital items in each electronic portfoliodepending on authorization criteria.
 37. The method of claim 36, whereinthe authorization criteria includes at least one permission profileassociated with at least one of the digital items.
 38. The method ofclaim 36, wherein the authorization criteria include at least one globalconfiguration profile associated with the plurality of electronicportfolios.
 39. The method of claim 38, wherein the plurality of usersincludes at least one user authorized to set at least one globalconfiguration profile.
 40. The method of claim 36, wherein theauthorization criteria includes at least one security profile associatedwith at least one role, each role including at least one of theplurality of users.
 41. The method of claim 36, wherein the digitalitems include at least one of artifacts, reflections, collections andpresentations.
 42. The method of claim 36, wherein the actions that maybe taken include commenting on at least one of the digital items. 43.The method of claim 36, wherein the actions that may be taken includeassessing at least one of the digital items.
 44. The method of claim 36,wherein the actions that may be taken include at least one of reading,modifying, sharing, and creating at least one of the digital items. 45.The method of claim 36, wherein the authorization criteria include atleast one permission-specific criterion.
 46. The method of claim 45,wherein the permission-specific criteria include enrollment data for theplurality of users.
 47. The method of claim 36, wherein each server isconfigured so that one or more users may have different levels ofcontrol over their associated electronic portfolios.
 48. The method ofclaim 36, wherein each server is configured so that the plurality ofusers may tag digital items using at least one keyword.
 49. The methodof claim 48, wherein each server is configured such that each user mayperform keyword searches across the plurality of electronic portfolios.50. The method of claim 49, wherein results of each search returndigital items based on the keywords associated therewith.
 51. The methodof claim 50, wherein the results of each search return digital itemsabout which that particular user was previously unaware.
 52. The methodof claim 50, wherein at least some of the keywords are dynamicallydefined by each user.
 53. The method of claim 50, wherein at least someof the keywords are predefined.
 54. The method of claim 50, wherein atleast one of the digital items is an assignment item prepared by a firstuser and presented to a second user for assessment.
 55. The method ofclaim 54, wherein the assessment of the assignment item by the seconduser is performed using at least one rubric.
 56. The method of claim 54,wherein, after each assignment item is submitted for assessment, thatassignment item is locked against subsequent changes.
 57. The method ofclaim 54, wherein the assignment item is a response to an examinationand includes answers to at least one question presented to the firstuser in association with the examination.
 58. The method of claim 57,wherein the assessment of the assignment item is returned to the firstuser only with data that the second user has determined should bereturned.
 59. The method of claim 58, wherein the assessment of theassignment item is returned to the first user without the plurality ofquestions.
 60. The method of claim 36, wherein at least one digital itemincludes at least one collection, each collection including a pluralityof digital items.
 61. The method of claim 60, wherein the plurality ofdigital items in each collection may include local digital itemsassociated with a particular electronic portfolio and remote digitalitems not associated with that particular electronic portfolio.
 62. Themethod of claim 61, wherein at least one of the remote digital items isassociated with a different electronic portfolio.
 63. The method ofclaim 61, wherein at least one of the remote digital items is a linkeditem external to the social electronic learning system.
 64. The methodof claim 60, wherein at least one of the plurality of digital items ineach collection is associated therewith based on a manual selection ofat least one digital item.
 65. The method of claim 60, wherein at leastone of the plurality of digital items in each collection is associatedtherewith based on dynamic associations formed using at least onekeyword associated with at least one digital item.
 66. The method ofclaim 36, wherein each user has a personal profile, and the personalprofile is displayed to other users differently depending on at leastone context.
 67. The method of claim 36, wherein at least one of theelectronic portfolios includes at least one presentation.
 68. The methodof claim 67, wherein each presentation includes at least one digitalitem and has at least one theme associated therewith.
 69. The method ofclaim 67, wherein at least a portion of each theme may be controlled byat least one global theme variable.
 70. The method of claim 67, whereineach presentation can be shared with other users based on a permissionsprofile set by the user creating the presentation.
 71. A physicalcomputer readable medium including computer executable instructionswhich, when executed on a computing device, cause the computing deviceto: a) identify a plurality of users in an educational community; b)identify a plurality of computing devices for communicating with theplurality of users in the educational community; c) communicate witheach of the plurality of computing devices; d) communicate with at leastone data storage device configured to host a plurality of electronicportfolios, each electronic portfolio associated with one or more usersof the plurality of users in the educational community; and e) allow oneor more users to associate one or more digital items with eachelectronic portfolio, and the plurality of users to take actions on thedigital items in each electronic portfolio depending on authorizationcriteria.